Suffolk County, Massachusetts
Suffolk County is a county in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of the 2010 census, the population was 722,023. The county seat is Boston, the state capital and largest city. The county government was abolished in the late 1990s and Suffolk remains only as a geographic area, still used by entities such as the National Weather Service to define a weather alert affecting its footprint without listing every single town/city that embraces. Suffolk County is included in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The county was created by the Massachusetts General Court on May 10, 1643, when it was ordered "that the whole plantation within this jurisdiction be divided into four shires". Suffolk initially contained Boston, Roxbury, Dorchester, Dedham, Braintree, Weymouth, and Hingham.Davis, William T. Bench and Bar of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, p. 44. The Boston History Company, 1895. The county was named after Suffolk, England, which means "southern folk."Thomas Cox, Anthony Hall, Robert Morden, Magna Britannia Antiqua & Nova: Or, A New, Exact, and Comprehensive Survey of the Ancient and Present State of Great Britain, Volume 5, (Caesar Ward and Richard Chandler: London, 1738), pg. 171 (accessed on Google Book Search, June 22, 2008) In 1731, the extreme western portions of Suffolk County, which included Uxbridge, were split off to become part of Worcester County. In 1793, most of the original Suffolk County except for Boston, Chelsea, Hingham, and Hull (which remained in Suffolk) split off and became Norfolk County. Hingham and Hull would leave Suffolk County and join Plymouth County in 1803.http://www.norfolkcounty.org/index.cfm?pid=10429 Revere was set off from Chelsea and incorporated in 1846 and Winthrop was set off from Revere and incorporated in 1852. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, Boston annexed several adjacent cities and towns including Hyde Park, Roxbury, West Roxbury, and Dorchester from Norfolk County and Charlestown and Brighton from Middlesex County, resulting in an enlargement of Suffolk County. Government and politics Like an increasing number of Massachusetts counties, Suffolk County exists today only as a historical geographic region, and has no county government.CIS: Historical Data Relating to the Incorporation of Counties in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts All former county functions were assumed by state agencies in 1999. The sheriff, district attorney, and some other regional officials with specific duties are still elected locally to perform duties within the county region, but there is no county council, executives or commissioners. Immediately prior to the abolition of county government, the authority of the Suffolk County Commission had for many years been exercised by the Boston City Council, even though three communities in the county are not part of the city. However, communities are now granted the right to form their own regional compacts for sharing services.See also: League of Women Voters page on counties. Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (52%) is water. It is the second-smallest county in Massachusetts by land area and smallest by total area. Adjacent counties *Essex County (north) *Norfolk County (south) *Middlesex County (west) Suffolk County has no land border with Plymouth County to its southeast, but the two counties share a water boundary in the middle of Massachusetts Bay. National protected areas *Boston African American National Historic Site *Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area (part) *Boston National Historical Park Demographics 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2013 }} As of the census of 2010, there were 722,023 people, 315,522 households, and 139,082 families residing in the county. The population density was 12,415.7 people per square mile (4,551/km²). There were 292,520 housing units at an average density of 4,999 per square mile (1,930/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 48.1% White, 21.6% Black or African American, 0.4% Native American, 8.2% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 8.17% from other races, and 3.9% from two or more races. 19.9% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 15.3% were of Irish, 11.1% Italian and 6.4% West Indian ancestry according to Census 2000. 66.3% spoke only English at home; 14.5% spoke Spanish, 3.1% French Creole, 2.4% Chinese or Mandarin, 2.2% Portuguese, 1.7% Vietnamese, 1.6% Italian and 1.3% French. There were 278,722 households out of which 23.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 29.30% were married couples living together, 16.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 50.10% were non-families. 36.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 3.17. In the county the population was spread out with 20.2% under the age of 18, 15.1% from 18 to 24, 35.5% from 25 to 44, 18.1% from 45 to 64, and 11% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 93.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.50 males. The median income for a household in the county was $39,355, and the median income for a family was $44,361. Males had a median income of $37,174 versus $32,176 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,766. About 14.90% of families and 19.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.90% of those under age 18 and 17.00% of those age 65 or over. As of the 2013 Census Estimates, the 2013 Population Estimate is 755,503 which is a 4.6% increase since the 2010 Census took place. Demographic breakdown by town Income Data is from the 2007-2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Communities ( ), Chelsea ( ), Revere ( ), and Winthrop ( ). Interior water features such as Boston Harbor are filled in by the color of the containing city.]] *Boston (traditional county seat) *Chelsea *Revere *Winthrop See also * Registry of Deeds (Massachusetts) * [[USS Suffolk County (LST-1173)|USS Suffolk County (LST-1173)]] * List of Registered Historic Places in Suffolk County, Massachusetts Notes External links *Suffolk County Sheriffs Department *Suffolk County District Attorney *Suffolk County Registry of Deeds *Walling & Gray. 1871 Map of Boston, Suffolk, County and Nearby Towns Pages 48-49 from the 1871 Atlas of Massachusetts. *National Register of Historic Places listing for Suffolk Co., Massachusetts *Map of cities and towns of Massachusetts Category:Counties of Massachusetts Category:Suffolk County, Massachusetts Category:Greater Boston Category:Established in 1643 Category:Disestablished in 1999